Stephen Spaulding Email & Phone Number

Washington, Dc, Us

Washington, Dc

Washington, Dc

Returned to Common Cause April 2023 after the unexpected death of the organization's President and CEO to support interim leadership. Testified twice in Congress as an expert witness (May and September 2023). Worked closely with National Governing Board, senior leadership, program, legislative affairs, state, development, and communications staff on the organization's pro-democracy agenda on behalf of its 1.5 million members and supporters.

Washington, Dc

Advised Chairwoman Klobuchar and led a team of three attorneys on all policy matters within the Committee's jurisdiction, including election administration, election security, and campaign finance. Worked closely with the Senator's other senior staff, including her Judiciary Committee staff, on legislative and oversight strategy, and with the Senator's communications staff on speeches, media appearances, and public engagement.

Washington, Dc

Worked as the Common Cause President's senior advisor and worked closely with legislative affairs, communications, program, and policy staff to advance the organization's agenda.

Advised Chairperson Zoe Lofgren, Members of the Committee, and other Capitol Hill stakeholders on election law matters, including election administration; election security; campaign finance; and voting rights. Managed team of four attorneys. Collaborated and guided legislative strategy including bill drafting; hearings; markups; amendments; Rules Committee consideration; and House Floor action. Work closely with communications staff. Wrote speeches and talking points. Managed relationships with outside stakeholders. Crafted oversight strategy of government agencies under the Committee's jurisdiction, including the Federal Election Commission and the Election Assistance Commission. Played key leadership role in advancing H.R. 1 (For the People Act); H.R. 2722 (SAFE Act); H.R. 4617 (SHIELD Act); and elections components of the Heroes Act (H.R. 6800) through through successful House passage. Planned numerous hearings (Legislative and oversight), including field hearings on voting rights throughout the country, the first Congressional hearings on voting and election administration during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the first Congressional hearing with the CEOs of the three major voting machine vendors.

Washington D.C. Metro Area

Lead Committee counsel on campaign finance matters; played key leadership role in advancing H.R. 1 through the House of Representatives; drafted, negotiated, and counseled Members of Congress on election security, election administration, voting rights; conducted oversight of Federal Election Commission.

Washington, Dc

Worked with Common Cause's policy, legislative, legal, communications, and development staff to achieve the organization's goals, using a combination of legislative advocacy, strategic communications, legal, and grassroots organizing tools. Senior advisor to the organization's president and a member of the management team. Facilitated Common Cause’s presence on Capitol Hill and in advocacy coalitions, including with democracy, civil rights, think tanks, and social justice organizations. Advanced Common Cause's ideas and messages through media outreach and public communications, including public events and writing for publications. Assisted with fundraising, including foundation relations and grant writing. Featured guest on many television and radio programs, including CBS News' 60 Minutes, NPR's All Things Considered, 1A, and On Point, C-SPAN's Washington Journal, and many shows on CNN and MSNBC. My expertise and work have been quoted by The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, NPR, Salon, POLITICO, USA Today, Slate, The Daily Beast, The Atlantic, Talking Points Memo, The Boston Globe, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Roll Call and numerous other outlets. Op-eds and essays appeared in the Los Angeles Times, POLITICO, Salon, USA Today, The Hill, US News & World Report, and The Huffington Post.

Washington, Dc

Advised Commissioner Ravel on federal campaign finance law and policy, including hundreds of enforcement cases, litigation against the Commission, investigations and audits of federal campaign committees, rulemaking, advisory opinion requests, and legislative recommendations. I negotiated with other commissioners and their staffs, including Statements of Reasons and legal analyses. I remained with Commissioner Ravel through her resignation from the agency.Regularly represented and communicated Commissioner Ravel's views to senior agency staff and attorneys in the Office of General Counsel. Managed Commissioner Ravel's public engagement initiatives, including speechwriting, op-eds for national publications, reports, media interviews, and panel invitations. Placed op-eds in major outlets and managed social media. My responsibilities also included advising on management of the 350+ employee agency, including matters related to hiring, budget, and information technology.

Washington, Dc

Developed policy, legislative, and advocacy positions, focusing on campaign finance reform, voting rights, ethics, transparency and Congressional procedure. Authored formal comments in regulatory proceedings. Advised Members of Congress, Capitol Hill staff and Administration officials about good government matters. Testified as an expert witness before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Federal Election Commission and as a guest speaker at House caucus meetings. Coordinated litigation in the national office and 35 state chapters, including counsel on cases to which Common Cause was a party or submitted an amicus brief. Authored multiple election law research reports cited by national media outlets and utilized by federal and state policymakers. Developed strategic communications plans across various platforms, working closely with communications and digital media team. Presented as panelist at numerous conferences. Served as spokesperson with national and local media. Drafted Congressional testimony, op-eds, press releases, press statements, speeches and talking points. Represented Common Cause in coalition with allies and grassroots activists. Assisted with development and fundraising.

Washington, Dc

Authored litigation and regulatory memoranda pertaining to banking and financial services class actions, products liability class actions, and national security law. Conducted client interviews for internal investigations. Performed legal analysis of a major bank’s foreclosure procedures in 50 states for compliance with federal and state law and regulations, including consumer protection laws, the Home Affordable Modification Program and the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act. Drafted dispositive motions and various discovery motions. Managed large-scale document discovery collection and analysis. Pro bono counseled tenants and landlords at D.C. Bar Landlord-Tenant Resource Center and completed legal research for D.C. Bar Family Law Project.

Washington, Dc

Boston, Massachusetts

Annapolis, Maryland

Completed legal research assignments and drafted memoranda for the Governor and senior staff on a variety of topics including copyright protection of government photographs, emergency telecommunications regulations, income tax and official government housing, and group home placement policies for troubled youth.

New York City

The Rackets Bureau of the Manhattan District Attorney's Office conducts long-term investigations into the corrupt activities of criminal enterprises. Performed extensive research on large scale organized crime and white collar public integrity investigations, including electronic surveillance summaries and witness interviews. Worked closely with senior investigative counsel and organized crime investigative detectives to formulate case strategy. Drafted subpoenas, court orders, and law enforcement affidavits. Analyzed material obtained from search warrants for presentation to grand juries.

Washington, Dc

Prepared daily press packs including all relevant newspaper clips from various news sources. Wrote policy memoranda and managed constituent correspondence. Drafted press releases. Researched the Senator’s voting record in the 108th Congress for extensive vote categorization project.

Jd, Cum Laude

Activities and Societies: Editor-in-Chief, Boston College Journal of Law & Social Justice (then published as the Third World Law Journal)

B.A., Political Science

Political Sociology